1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to automated toll stations and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for dispensing and receiving products at a toll station.
2. Description of the Related Art
Millions of automobile drivers employ the highway and roadway systems of the United States every day. A portion of the United States highway and roadway system includes facilities such as toll roads, bridges and tunnels that are funded by tolls collected from vehicle occupants. The tolls for using such facilities are typically collected at toll stations immediately preceding or immediately following use of the facilities.
Historically, toll stations have resulted in significant traffic problems, in part, due to the delay caused by processing the payment of the tolls. In the past, automobiles were required to come to a complete stop in order to pay a toll, usually to a human recipient who was often required to make change for the driver. This and other problems related to vehicle throughput at toll stations have been generally recognized.
There have been various technology-based attempts to improve the throughput of toll stations by reducing the amount of time each automobile must spend at a toll station, or by eliminating the need for an automobile to slow down to pay a toll. Two such attempts, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,101,200 and 5,422,473 of Swett and Kamata, respectively.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,200, Swett discloses a toll paying system for use with a vehicle passing through a fast lane. The toll paying system of Swett employs a detection means and a class-determining means to detect tag information and determine the class of vehicle passing through the toll lane. The system of Swett further includes a method for paying a toll by charging a toll fee to an account based on the tag information and the class of the vehicle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,473, Kamata discloses a vehicle security system and automatic roadway toll charging system. According to the system of Kamata, a non-contact type IC card and card reader unit are employed within a vehicle to transmit information to an external device or system. Further, an imaging section generates an image of the vehicle""s license plate to detect unauthorized use of the IC card. The information transmitted between the card reader unit and the external device or system is used to automatically charge a toll fee.
These advancements may advantageously increase the throughput at toll stations, but they fail to address other significant problems.
A need therefore exists for a method and apparatus that addresses the deficiencies of prior systems.
Generally, according to one aspect of the invention, a method and apparatus are disclosed for dispensing a product at a toll station. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that actively promotes the sale of products at a toll station while maintaining high throughput. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that enables consumers to return rented products at a toll station while maintaining high throughput.
In accordance with the present invention, a first method is disclosed for distributing a product at a toll station. The method includes receiving an account identifier to identify an account. The method further includes outputting an offer to distribute a product. The offer may include offer criteria such as price in the case of a sale, or rental period, rental fee and extra fees such as late fees in the case of a rental.
The method further includes detecting acceptance of the offer and dispensing the product. The method also includes processing a transaction based on the account identifier and the offer criteria.
A second method is disclosed for receiving a product at a toll station. The method includes receiving an account identifier that indicates an account. The method also includes detecting receipt of a product and determining a product identifier corresponding to the product. The method further includes determining whether there is an association between the product identifier and the account identifier. A transaction is then processed based on the account identifier and the product identifier.
A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the present invention, will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description and drawings.